


I’m Alive, Brother

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [11]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Grayson (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Batman makes better decisions, Canonical Character Not-Death, Code Bat, Dick Grayson dies then un-dies, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Fix-It, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Timeline What Timeline, crime syndicate, pre-spyral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27434512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: Nightwing’s secret identity is revealed by the Crime Syndicate. Code Bat ensured that the rest of the Bats were safe.That did nothing to comfort Batman when he saw his son strapped to a bomb.(Canon happens, but Batman reacts differently. A fix-it.)
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson & Tim Drake & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon
Series: Code Bat [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 20
Kudos: 579





	I’m Alive, Brother

When Nightwing’s identity was revealed to the world, the Bats’ secrecy was both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing, because the other Bats were safe.

A curse, because as the others continued to fight on, they had to pretend not to care, pretend to turn a blind eye to the instinctual urge to go running towards their eldest brother’s side.

For Batman, watching Nightwing’s heart slow to a stop in front of him was the last straw. 

Lex Luthor was reasonably surprised when Batman lost his cool, the billionaire’s eyes wide and frightened before he was able to revive Nightwing again from clinical death. Batman could care less - that was _his son_ the man had killed, whether he knew it or not.

Something inside of Bruce squeezed tightly with the urge to protect his kid, to shield him away from those who would no doubt begin to pry into his personal life, now that his identity was out there for the whole world to know. The rest of the Bats may have been safe, but Nightwing was not, and it was not right for him to shoulder such scrutiny alone. 

Batman withdrew his hand from Nightwing’s neck, the heartbeat weak but steady, and instead announced that they had been too late. Bizarro was too out of it to call his bluff, and he was hauling his son’s form into his arms before anyone could confirm his announcement.

Batman disappeared without another word, carrying Nightwing out of the room with an odd amount of gentleness.

~

Nightwing is dead.

That was the news that greeted Jason, bright and blaring on the “Breaking News”, spoken by Lex Luthor, who claimed to be a sorrowful eyewitness of the event.

“Batman is not responding to his comms,” Oracle whispered quietly in his ear. Jason’s breath caught in something close to a gasp.

Roy and Kori had somehow coerced him into patching himself up in Titans tower. Now, as he rose to his feet, he met Tim’s eye from across the room.

In less than half an hour, they were changed into civilian clothes, tearing down the streets towards Gotham. Tim was steadily monitoring the comms unit in his motorcycle helmet for news - something, anything - but the worrying silence remained.

Jason cursed under his breath and drove faster.

They had already lost one of them. They had already lost Damian - they could not lose another. _Please, not like this._

Tim barely waited until the bike had stopped completely before he was swinging his feet over the side and hopping off. He jerked back just before reaching the door to keep pace behind Jason as he barged in, clasping a hand around Jason’s arm in a vice grip as they entered Wayne Manor.

“Master Jason, Master Tim,” Alfred was there to greet them. He raised an eyebrow at their frazzled states, their wind-swept hair and the barely-concealed fear in their eyes. He ached to see the expression on their young faces.

Fortunately, today would not be another sombre day.

“Boys,” Bruce hurried into their line of sight, descending the stairs fast enough to blur, “I’m sorry, I should have said something, but information travels fast and-“

“Is he alive?” Jason demanded, his voice cracking at the last syllable. His face was one step away from crumbling, but there was flickering hope in his eyes.

“Dick is resting,” Bruce cut to the chase, “He was dead-“ Tim sucked in a deep breath, “-for a few moments, but we got him back. He’s alright.”

The declaration hung in the air, until Jason released a long, shuddering breath. Then Tim was moving forward, and Jason by extension stumbled with him, Tim’s hand still gripping his arm. 

Tim had moved into a tight hug around Bruce’s side. Jason ended up on Bruce’s other side, and despite the settling anxiety, could not bring himself to move away from the near-embrace. Then Bruce was pulling them both closer, arms wrapping tightly around them, and Jason let himself close his eyes and sink into the comfort.

“It’s alright,” Bruce whispered, “Dick is alright. He’ll live to see another day.”

Tim choked out a laugh somewhere to Jason’s right, and Jason fumbled until his hand found Tim’s arm, giving it a light squeeze. Tim returned the squeeze, his hand finally loosening from where it had been clasped tightly in its death grip, as if his life had depended on the grounding touch.

“Alfred,” Jason felt the rumble of Bruce’s voice from where he was pressed flush into him, “Could you bring some extra pillows and blankets into Dick’s room? I don’t think we’ll be sleeping apart, tonight.”

“Of course, Master Bruce,” Alfred acknowledged. A hand briefly touched Jason’s shoulder as barely-there footsteps treaded away.

“C’mon, you two,” Bruce coaxed, “You’ll probably want to see him with your own pairs of eyes.”

~

“Hey, Kon.”

Kon-El jerked to face the new voice. Tim treaded quietly up to him, stopping at his side. The two boys were both dressed in black suits. Tension bled out of Kon’s shoulders.

“You made a quick exit the other day,” Kon murmured, “I was worried that something had happened.”

Tim shook his head. “Nothing that didn’t already happen,” he inclined his head towards the funeral in front of them. The public funeral for Nightwing, Dick Grayson, had both people from Gotham and outside Gotham congregating in the large courtyard of the park.

The “private funeral” for close family was supposed to happen in Wayne Manor itself, later that day.

“I just… had to check on my own family. Make sure that they were all still doing okay, and that no one got caught in the crossfire.”

Kon nodded in understanding, giving his friend a weak smile before pointing out their teammates.

“Bart is with his cousin,” Kon gestured to where Bart Allen and Wally West stood. Wally was folded in on himself. Kon then pointed out Cassie, a comforting hand on Donna’s shoulder. She was standing tall, but occasionally she would swipe a hand up to her face, her fingers coming away glinting with tears.

“You’re just here to pay your respects, then? I know your Dad wasn’t very close to him, despite Nightwing’s Kryptonian-influenced name,” Tim pointed out.

“Well, yeah. That’s what you’re here for too, right?”

Tim’s eyes trailed towards the casket, where Dick Grayson’s body was supposedly laid to rest. Tim realised with a start that their hidden identities were helping them to hide the truth.

After all, Red Robin from the Teen Titans would be indifferent to the death of an older superhero, however popular he was.

“Yup,” Tim agreed numbly, “Just paying my respects.”

~

Barbara was invited to the Manor without any official reason, just after the official funeral for Dick Grayson. She could think of a few unofficial reasons, namely the privacy to grieve in a familiar space.

She could spot at least half the crowd consisting of the various superhero teams that Nightwing had influenced and inspired. None of them were there to judge her for crying, but she hated that the paparazzi could catch her like this. When her father had to return to work - she had assured him that she would be fine, even if that was not all true - Steph had continued to stand by her side in solidarity, speaking no words to the closed casket.

The dark shadow to her usually bright presence spoke enough on how she felt.

Eventually, the crowd dispersed. She spotted hints of Tim and Jason weaving in and out of their teams, offering their murmured comforts to Nightwing’s teammates. Cass was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared a while ago. Then it was just her, Steph, and the closed casket.

“Barbara. Stephanie.”

Bruce stepped up to them as Steph peered up towards him. Barbara kept her gaze fixated on the casket.

“How many times do we have to tell you, old man? It’s just Babs and Steph,” Steph tried and failed to hit her usual upbeat tones, her gaze straying back to Dick Grayson’s hidden body before long. Bruce took in their grieving states, and angled himself towards the driveway.

“Come back to the Manor with me. It’s the least I can do.”

Something about Bruce’s tone was off, but Barbara was too engulfed in her grief to pay it much mind. 

Bruce escorted them into the Manor. Instead of going to the dining area or living room, though, Bruce led them up towards the bedrooms.

Specifically, straight to the bedroom that would no longer be used.

Bruce seemed to sense the inevitable outburst, because he was opening the door before the two girls could react.

Cass was still in the black dress she had arrived at the funeral with, earlier in the day. She was sprawled at an awkward angle on the bed, clutching a bedraggled form, which was still swamped in blankets. Arms were snaked around Cass’ small frame, one hand rubbing comforting circles on her back. The familiarity of the voice murmuring assurances was like being doused in cold water.

“Dick?”

It took Barbara a moment to recognise that the broken, shaky whisper had come from her mouth. The head that had been nestled in Cass’ shoulder snapped up towards her voice, and sure enough, blue eyes widened into recognition at the sight of her.

Jason and Tim slipped back into the room to see Bruce attempting to convince the three girls to change out of their formal funeral wear into something more comfortable for curling around the same bed. Jason snorted as Babs flipped off his father, her face hidden by the small mountain of pillows.

“Really though, it’d be better to change out,” Jason piped up, gesturing to himself and Tim, who had taken the time to change out of their expensive clothing, “You’ll probably be here for the rest of the day, at least. Might as well be comfortable.”

Babs stayed overnight in the Batcave to monitor the comms, her heart significantly lighter. Steph skipped patrol so that she could attach herself to Dick as his overnight cuddle partner, her smile significantly brighter. Cass danced across the rooftops with a vigour that she thought she had lost, comforted by the knowledge her big brother was _alive_.

~

“There are ways around the issue,” Bruce stated, “We don’t need to do this, specifically.”

“Then why come to me with it?” Dick huffed, eyes shining bright and fierce, “I’m doing this for you guys as much as I am for myself. If they find out that Batman is Bruce Wayne, and they already know Nightwing is Dick Grayson, then they’ll come after the rest of the Waynes. We can’t let that happen.”

“Made up his mind,” Cass pointed out, “Big brother is very stubborn.”

A smile twitched across Dick’s otherwise serious face. It did hurt a little to have to hide his continued existence from his Titans friends, but his family was his priority. 

If it meant having to play dead, then so be it.

“We’d have to keep communication to a minimum,” Bruce explained, “And we wouldn’t be able to help you. You’d be on your own. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”

“Code Bat can’t be activated to help me,” Dick nodded in understanding. He let his smile slip through then, a cocky grin, “I can handle myself just fine, B. Don’t worry about me.”

Bruce’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “If you say so,” he gruffed, a smile of his own peeking out through his emotionless face. 

Tim hugged Dick tightly. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he mumbled into Dick’s chest. Jason laughed and clasped Dick’s shoulder, which promptly turned into a hug, because this was Dick Grayson they were talking about.

“What the little bird said, Dickie,” Jason whispered, “Come back to us in one piece.”

“I will,” Dick squeezed Jason once before letting him go, “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Doesn’t mean that we won’t still be worried,” Steph huffed from where she was standing beside Babs and Cass. Dick smiled warmly and gave his own farewells to the three girls.

“Take care, Spyral agent,” Babs teased as they pulled away from a hug, “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I do believe that he will have no choice once officially registered,” Alfred pointed out dryly. Dick swept him into a hug as well, “See you soon, Alfie.”

“Goodbye for now, Master Dick. I do hope you will keep up a healthy diet of more than just cereal when you are gone.”

**Author's Note:**

> Do I know what timeline I’m using? Hell, no. Do I care? nOpe.
> 
> Thank you all for the support you’ve already given to this series! Buckle up, because this is just the diving board for “Not Canon Compliant” oneshots. 
> 
> Next up: stabby boi’s year of atonement.


End file.
